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(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

o.. W. WHITE. MATTRESS STUFFING MACHINE.

No. 568,648. Patented se t. 29 1896.

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` 3 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

C W WHITE MATTRESS STUFFING MACHINE.

.No. 568,648. Patented Sept. 29, 1896.

(-Noodel.) sheetv-sheet 3.

C. W. WHITE.

MATTRESS STUFFING MACHINE.

Patented Sept. 29, 1896.

UNTED :STATES PATENT @Erica CHARLES V. VHITE, OF IMAGO, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO MARY IVIIITE, OF SAME PLACE.

MATTRESS-STU FFING MACHIN E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,648, dated September 29, 1896. I Application iiled August 28, 1395. Serial No. 560,772. (No model.) i

To ail whom t may concern: a, as shown in Fig. 9, so that the air con- Beit known that I, CHARLES IV. VHITE, a tained in the material undergoing comprescitizen of the United States,residingat Waco, sion may pass through said perforations and in the county of McLennan and State of Texas, out through the interior of the rollers, so as 55 5 have invented certain new and useful Imnot to interfere with the compressing action. provements in Mattress-Stufling Machines; The pass or space between the rollers is and I do hereby declare the following to be a designed to be varied according to the thickfull, clear, and exact description of the invenness of the tick to be filled. To this end one tion, such as will enable others skilled in the of the rollers, for instance, the roller A, is 6o 1o art to which it appertains to make and use mounted within a yoke B and is provided the same. with bearing-blocks b, adapted to slide in My invention relates to certain new and guide-slots c of the frame C, which frame sususeful improvements in mattress-stuffing tains the steam or hydraulic power-cylinder machines, and has for its object the produc- D, whose piston d is connected at its outer 65 i5 tion of a machine for such purpose of effiend to the yoke B. By this arrangement the ciency and facility in operation and of econpower-cylinder is enabled to raise the roller omy and simplicity in manufacture. A to the height necessary to afford the pass A main characteristic feature of the madesired. chine is its capability of feeding the stuffing The roller A is driven by means of the 7o 2o material directly from the bale and in superbelt-pulley d or the like from any suitable posed layers, wherein, if desired, the intersource of power. A sprocket-chain f transmediate layers may be of different quality mit-s its motion to a sprocket-wheelf upon than that of the outside layers or even of ena shaft g, said shaft g being supported by tirely different material. swinging arms g g2, mounted loosely upon 75 25 In the accompanying drawings, Figure l the shaft g and the shafts of the rollers A A. represents a side elevation of a mattress-stuff- A sprocket-chain (crossed as shown in Figs.

ing machine embodying my improvements, l and 9) transmits motion from the sprocketthe upper power-cylinder being omitted. Fig. wheel f to the sprocket-wheel f3 and to the 2 representsa plan view of the parts shown in roller A. 8o 3o Fig. l. Fig. 3 represents asection on the line p From the lower part of the side arms of the 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4 represents, on a larger yoke B is suspended the condenser or former scale,afractionalviewin longitudinalsection box or conduit E, which therefore bears a of the compression part of the machine and constant relationship to the roller A, rising the neighboring parts. Fig. 5 represents a or descending with the latter. 8 35 perspective view of the condenser guide-box The condenser E is preferably provided or former with its tick-holdingauxiliary por- -With a flaring mouth e, and is slotted transtion. Figs. 6 and '7 represent, respectively, versely at c', so that the periphery of the a side elevation and plan thereof, together rollerAeXtends through said slot. rPhe sides with the divider for separating the material e2 of the condenser cover the ends of the go 4o that has been forced into the tick from the roller-pass and are recessed at es, so that they remainder of the compressed material at the may iit over the shaft of the roller A when termination of a stuffing operation. Fig. 8 the rollerAis in its lowermost position. The

represents a front elevation, partlyin section, condenser is furthermore provided with a of the said divider; and Fig. 9 represents a rearward extension e4, constituting a tick- 95 45 longitudinal sectional viewof a modification holder, in conjunction with a yoke having of the machine. slotted side pieces d2 and downwardly-curved Similar letters of reference indicate similar cross-piece d3. By means of butterfly-nuts parts throughout the several views. (Z4 upon threaded pins the yoke may be ad- Referring to the drawings, the compressor justed vertically, as required. The tick is roo 5o consists of two hollow rollersAA,Which may adapted to be drawn over the tick-holder, be corrugated and provided with perforations crimped together, as shown in Fig. l, and as it is fed with the stuffing material it is graduw ally pushed back from the tick-holder, as shown in Fig. il, and out upon a supportingtable G. The extreme lower forward end of the tick extends beneath the cross-piece or scraper d3, which therefore serves to guide the material into the tick.

lVhen the tick is to be stu ffed with unbaled or loose material, said material may conveniently be inserted within a suitable box ll, Fig. i), having in its bottom an endless conveyor-belt 7i, which passes over idler-rollers m ml m2 and about the roller A', from which it derives its power.

The conveyor, it will be noted, extends entirely through the pass of the rollers A A and beyond the mouth of the tick to the end of the table G, thereby absolutely insuring the eilicient delivery of the material into the tick. The conveyor thus serves not only to feed the material to the compression-rolls, but also to convey the same after compression and feed it to the tick. This construction not only affords a more direct and positive feed than where the material is projected by the rolls only, but, in addition, it prevents the dropping of material between the exit side of the roller-pass and the end of the tick. This is a matter of importance, especially where loose material is employed for stuffing, as illustrated in Fig. Sl.

When it is desired to fill the tick from bales of cotton that have been wound in a rollerpress upon a core having projecting journals, I locate said journals preferably in elongated bearings n, formed in supports N, located at opposite sides of the conveyor-belt i, Figs. land i2. The bale r in this arrangement rests directly upon theconveyer. As the conveyer moves, therefore, the bale is simultaneously unwound and the unwound layer carried forward toward the compressor. This forwardly-moving layer serves as the unwinding and forwarding` conveyor of the bale r in advance of it, and so on, the bales r2, I1"), tbc., being nnwound and their layers carried forward in like manner to the coinpressor by the moving layers beneath them.

For the higher grade of mattresses stuffed in accordance with my invention I preferably use cotton as the stuffing material, but in some instances, for purposes of economy and where a cheaper grade of mattress is to be produced, I may employ, in conjunction with the lower and upper layers of cotton, an intermediate layer or layers of some cheaper material, such as hay, excelsior, or the like.

The layers of stuiiing material as they approaeh the compressor enter the ilaring mouth of the condenser and are drawn upward by the rotating compressing-rollers, in conjunction with the conveyer-belaand in the compressed condition are fed upward into the open mouth of the tiek, which has been stretched upon the tick-holder in a crimped condition. As the material enters the tick .it gradually pushes the tick'from the tiekholder, filling it regularly and evenly with a compact filling of the stul'ling material. IVhen the tick is completely filled, the moving body of stuffing material has entirely pushed the tick in its filled condition off the tick-holder and upon the receiving-table. The machinery is then stopped by the operator, and it now becomes necessary to separate that portion of the body of stuffing material that has entered the tick from the remaining portion. For this purpose I make use of what I will designate as a dividen This divider, in the form shown 'in the drawings, consists of two sets of fingers t t', depending from cross-bars o n", which cross-bars are provided with supporting-arms w w. The arms uf' a-re connected to a rock-shaft to2, and the arms w are sustained in guides or bars wi, proj ccting upwardly from the arms to', so that the entire divider may be swung upwardly into the position indicated in Fig. i and sustained in that position when out of use by means of a chain e', engaging with a hook e" upon themachineframc- 'lransverscly of the arms uf' is journaled a shaft having pinions a, which engage with racks upon the under side of the arms fw, and on the outer end of the shaft z2 is a hand-wheel L" for rotating the shaft and its pinions.

'When the tick has been filled, as hereinbefore described, the divider is brought down into the position indicated in Fig. G and the teeth if t enter the stuffing niiaterial, as indicated in Fig. 4:. The operator thereupon re volves the shaft ,z2 and its pinions by means of the handavheel ,214, and consequently the teeth t are caused to move away from the teeth t', thereby pulling the body of stufiing material apart and separating the portion that is within the tick from the remaining portion. The iilled tick may thereupon be removed and another tick may then be drawn over the tick-holder for a second operation.

In feeding loose material through the condenser, under pressure, it will sometimes occur that a greater quantity of material is for a time at one side of the box, which would tend to tilt the cylinder A at one end, thereby straining the machinery and causing it to work with more friction and greater dii'iiculty. To obviate this diiiculty, I give a positive motion, alike at both ends,to the movable cylinder A. This is eil'ected by mounting a shaft k2 in the frame (l, said shaft being provided with pinions 7.5,iixed thereon and engaging with racks 7u upon opposite sides of the yoke B, so that one end of the movable cylinder will be at the same elevation as the other whatever difference there may be momentarily in the distribution of the material fed between the rolleipass.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In a mattress-smiling machine, the combination with compressingrollers, one of which is movable toward and from the other,

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of a condenser whose sides cover the ends of the roller-pass, said condenser being movable with the movable roller, a tick-holder located on the exit side of the roller-pass, and means for supplying the stufiing material to said pass; substantially as described.

2. In a mattress-stuiiing machine, the combination with the compressing-rollers, of a tick-holder located on the exit side of the roller-pass, and a condenser covering the ends of the roller-pass, said condenser having a transverse opening through which the periphery of the upper roller extends; substantially as described.

3. In a mattress-stuffing machine, the combination with the condenser, of a tick-holdin g yoke adjustable up and down upon the condenser, the cross-piece of said yoke being downwardly inclined so as to serve as a scraper; substantially as described.

4. In a mattress-stuffing machine, the combination with a compressor, conveyer, and tick-holder, of a divider for mechanically separating or pulling apart the material stuffed into the tick, from the main body of the compressed material; substantially as described.

5. In a mattress-stuffing machine, the combination with a compressor, conveyer, and

tick-holder, of a divider for mechanically separating or pulling apart the material stuffed into the tick, from the main body of the compressed material, said divider consisting of two sets of fingers adapted to enter the compressed material, and means for causing one set of lingers to separate from the other set; substantially as described.l`

6. In a mattress-stufling machine, the oom bination with a compressor, conveyer, and tick-holder, of a divider for mechanically separating or pulling apart the material stuffed into the tick, from the main body of the compressed material, said divider consisting of two sets of fingers adapted to enter the compressed material, rack-gear connected to one of said sets of fingers, pinion-gear connected to the other set of ngers and means for revolving the pinion-gear; substantially as described.

7. In a inattressstufling machine, the combination with a compressor, conveyer, and tick-holder, of a divider for mechanically separating or pulling apart the material stuffed into the tick, from the main body of the compressed material, said divider consisting of two sets of fingers adapted to enter the compressed material, rack-gear connected to one of said sets of fingers, pinion-gear connected to the other set of lingers and means for revolving the pinion-gear, said divider being hinged or pivoted, whereby the lingers may be swung into or out of operative position; substantially as described.

S. In a mattress-stuffing machine, the combination with the compressor, of the tickholder, and a plurality of supports serving to sustain theY journals of bales of the stutling material fed to the compressor; said tickholder being located on the exit side of the compressor, and receiving the compressed material in layers therefrom; substantially as described.

9. In a mattress-stufiing machine, the combination with the compressor, of the tickholder, and a plurality of supports serving to sustain the journals of bales of the stuffing material fed to the compressor, said supports having elongated j ournal-bearin gs; substantially as described.

l 0. In a 1nattress-stuffing machine, the combination with the compressor, of the tickholder, and a plurality of supports serving to sustain the journals of bales of the stuffing material fed to the compressor, said supports being located in a row one in advance of the other in front of the compressor; substantially as described.

ll. In a mattress-stuffing machine, the combination with the compressing-rollers, of a table having an opening through which the periphery of the lower roller projects, a condenser having an opening through which the periphery of the upper roller projects, an endless conveyer-belt extending through the roller-pass and over the table, and a tickholder constituting a continuation of the condenser; substantially as described.

l2. In a mattress-stuffing machine, the cornbination with the compressing-rollers, of a table having an opening through which the periphery of the lower roller projects, a con- IOO denser having an opening through which the periphery of the upper roller projects, an endless conveyer-belt extending through the roller-pass and over the table, and a tickholder constituting a continuation of the condenser, and provided with. an adjustable securing-yoke; substantially as described.

13. In a mattress-stuftin g machine, the combination with the compressing-rollers, of a table having an opening through which the periphery of the lower roller projects, a condenser having an opening through which the periphery of the upper roller projects, an endless conveyer-belt extending through the roller-pass and over the table, and a tickholder constituting a continuation of the con- IIO denser, and a series ofsupports serving to sustain the journals of bales of the stuffing material fed to the machine; substantially as described.

14. In a mattress-stuffing machine, a conveyer for feeding superposed layers of stuftin g material to the compressor, in combination with the compressor and a condensing former box or conduit having a flaring mouth through which box the conveyer passes, substantially as described.

l5. In a mattress-stuftin g machine wherein superposed layers of stufng material are fed to the compressor, the combination with the compressor, of a condensing former box or conduit having a Haring mouth, and a con- Yeyer-belt entering said mouth and extending through the com presser; substaniiall y as described.

lo. In a mattress-stalling machine, the con1- bination with the condenser of the tiekn holder, and the divider, the tiek-holder constituting a continuation of the condenser, and the divider being pivoted to the condenser, whereby it may be' swung into and out of opera-tive position; substantially as described.

17. In a mattress-stuiiin g 1nacliine,wl1erein bale material is fed to the compressor, the combination with the compressor, of a conveycr leading thereto, said conveyer being located beneath the balejournals, and said journals being in elongated beari11gs,wl1ereby the conveyer is enabled to continuously unwind the bale and feed its layers forward to the compressor; substantially as described.

18. In a mattress-stufling machinenvherein superposed layers of bale material are fed to the compressor, the combination with the compressor, of a conveyer leading thereto, and a plurality oi' bale-supports, ar anged in a row one in advance of the other and above the eonveyer, whereby the conveyor is enabled to continuously unwind the entire series of bales simultaneously and feed their layers superposed, to the compressor; substantially as described.

19. In amattress-stniling machine, the combination with the adjustable compressingrollers, of a condenser located at the rollerpass, and means for moving the condenser vertically; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES XV. WHITE. lVitnesses:

ROBERT J. ToLsoN, Guo. 1I. WIEnUscii. 

